Dining review

Stephen Santacroce

Back in the neighborhood where I grew up on the East Coast we used to

joke that the really good Italian restaurants didn’t have any windows. Or

if they did, you didn’t sit with your back to them. No one needed to ask

why; one look at the booth in the back with guys in the gold chains

engaged in hushed but animated conversation told the story.

These were dark, family-run places where you came to get a good plate of

pasta, great veal, and lots of wine.

Giorgio’s on Balboa Island certainly has windows, and I didn’t see any

guys with pinky rings the last time I was there, otherwise it’s not hard

to imagine the restaurant having been picked up off a corner in New

Jersey and planted on its current location at Marine Avenue.

The atmosphere alone is enough to make one look for a “Sopranos” film

crew. The lights are kept low and much of the illumination comes from

candles at each table, giving a feeling of intimacy despite the fact that

tables are quite close together. Prints of Rome, Florence and other

Italian cities share space on the plaster walls with decorative ceramic

plates. Strains of Italian popular music are just loud enough to be heard

over the general din of conversation.

The restaurant itself is basically one large room. Two groups of tables

run down the center and can be pushed together to accommodate large

groups. A row of red leather booths runs along one wall, and some smaller

tables along the other.

Owner Giorgio Noferini has been in Balboa for 15 years and knows that

consistency is the key to keeping your customers loyal year after year.

He and his wife, Sandra, still cook much of the food themselves, and

Giorgio is happy to tell anyone that asks that fresh, high-quality

ingredients are the key to his success.

The menu at Giorgio features classic Italian dishes inspired by the

cuisine of Giorgio’s hometown of Florence. Appetizers such as the tomato

and mozzarella salad ($6.95) highlight the simplicity of Tuscan cuisine.

Ripe tomatoes (surprisingly ripe for this time of year) are paired with

creamy, fresh mozzarella cheese, and drizzled with good olive oil and a

sprinkling of basil leaves. Have your server finish the dish with some

fresh ground black pepper for a near perfect marriage of texture and

flavors.

Equally as good and equally as simple is the antipasto plate ($7.75), a

generous serving of several salamis and some provolone cheese. Or try my

favorite, the Insalata di Mare ($9.75). Here, baby shrimp, calamari and

scallops are steamed and chilled, and then dressed with some olive oil,

lemon juice and a healthy sprinkle of fresh parsley. The combination

relies on the quality of the seafood, here it’s all fresh tasting and

tender. Even the calamari, which is tricky to cook in this fashion, was

not the least bit chewy.

Typically, the next course in an Italian meal would be a pasta dish or

risotto. Giorgio’s offer a great selection of pastas, but be forewarned

these are entree-sized servings; I’d suggest splitting one with a friend

if you’re planning on a meat or fish dish to follow.

The rigatoni with sausage is an excellent example of the wonderful things

coming from Giorgio’s kitchen. Sandra still makes the marinara sauce from

scratch -- here it’s paired with grilled Italian sausage, also homemade,

and served over perfectly al dante pasta tubes.

Less satisfying is the pasta al formaggio ($13.95). The sauce is

cream-based and supposedly made with four different cheeses. I tasted

mozzarella and fontina cheeses, but overall the dish was milky and bland.

Of course, no Italian meal would be complete without a bottle of wine,

and Giorgio has assembled a respectable wine list featuring Italian

imports as well as some decent California selections. If you’re feeling

frugal try a carafe of the house red -- it’s inexpensive and better, I

think, than some of the red wines offered by the bottle.

Entree selections, as with most Tuscan menus, focus predominantly on meat

dishes, with veal being the clear star. Veal saltimbocca ($18.95), for

example, clearly illustrates Giorgio’s deft touch with classic Italian

dishes. Veal loin is pounded thin, scaloppine style, and quickly sauteed

with paper-thin slices of prosciutto ham.

A white wine reduction infused with fresh sage leaves completes the dish.

The pungent sage is the perfect counterpoint to the salty ham, and the

veal is melt-in-your mouth tender.

Or try the Veal marsala ($16.95), which is a similar scaloppine served

with a sauce of sweet marsala wine and fresh mushrooms.

If veal isn’t your thing, don’t worry, most of the dishes can be made

with chicken breast as well. One special that I’d highly recommend when

offered is the grilled steak ($25.95). In Giorgio’s version of the

classic bistecca alla Fiorentina, a thick T-bone is grilled to order,

after which the filets are carved from the bone and served sliced at the

table. You don’t get much simpler or much better. Share this dish with

someone, it easily serves two.

There are several desserts on the menu, but the only one I’d recommend is

the homemade tiramisu ($4.75). This now-classic combination of

ladyfingers dipped in espresso coffee and sweetened Mascarpone cheese is

a refreshing finish to any meal.

Some of my ex-patriot friends are still convinced you can’t get a good

Italian meal this side of the Hudson River. I say “fagettaboutit.” Grab a

couple of paisans and head down to Giorgio’s for a meal that’s the next

best thing to Mama’s home cooking.

* WHAT: Giorgio La Trattoria

* WHERE: 305 Marine Ave., Balboa Island

* WHEN: Lunch: Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Dinner: Sunday

through Thursday, 5 to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 5 to 11 p.m.

* HOW MUCH: Moderately expensive

* PHONE: (949) 675-6193

* STEPHEN SANTACROCE’s dining reviews appear every other Thursday. He can

be reached via e-mail at [email protected].